Odd One Out
by moon-starx
Summary: This is about a girl raised on the streets as a thief and how she ends up at the palace at about the same time as Alanna comes to be a page.
1. Street Life

Odd one out  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing, zip, zilch.  
  
AN: I dedicate this fic to my friend Drowning Rooster as she has ordered me to write a story  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Marina sprinted down a passage and found herself facing a dead end. Cursing, she looked around and something caught her eye. She stepped back a bit and took a running jump. She caught the windowsill that she had noticed, swung herself up and landed on the wall. It was only then that she allowed herself to look back the way she came. No one had followed her but that didn't mean anything, as she couldn't see round corners. Taking a deep breath she dropped down on the other side of the wall. Tucking herself into a corner she was finally able to catch her breath. 'I just had to do that didn't I.' She thought, 'I couldn't resist.'  
  
Marina was a thief but not just any thief; she was one of the best. She was part of a group that kept themselves separate from the Rouge. She was thirteen and had been on the streets since she could remember. She had shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. She wasn't anything special but she liked that as she could melt into a crowd.  
  
This particular adventure had happened when she had gone 'shopping' in a merchant's house. She noticed a valuable item that had obviously been spelled with an alarm. She had found this outing to be very boring and she wanted to have some fun, so for no reason at all she set off the alarm. That was how she had ended up sprinting as fast as she could away from a group of rather angry people. Luckily for Marina she was small and quick. She had never been strong but she was very fast.  
  
Marina stretched and looked up she could see the sun just beginning to rise over the housetops. She listened very carefully but as she couldn't hear anything she walked off to find Robert. Robert was the nearest thing she had to a friend and she hated him. He was the leader of the group she was part of and about four years older than she was. The group mainly consisted of teenagers on the street. They had a run down house where they had meetings and Marina decided to look for Robert there first.  
  
As she entered the house - she had to pick her way though a couple of people sleeping - she heard loud voices, well actually Robert's loud voice.  
  
"You put all of us in danger! That was such a stupid thing to do." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just got scared." " Well if that ever happens again, I'll not be so nice."  
  
Marina walked into the room where Robert was yelling at a terrified looking girl. As Robert sat down the girl practically sprinted out of the room. "Is terrorising little girls a new hobby of yours?" Marina asked leaning against the wall. "Hi Marina. Have a fun night?" Marina walked forward and dropped all she had stolen, with the exception of the spelled necklace, on a table.  
  
All the money that the group stole went to Robert; he made a note of the amount and bought food and stuff for everyone. Marina only did this to show off, as she knew that she almost always brought in the most.  
  
"Wow, that is huge." Robert breathed. "Any problems?" "Only ones that I made myself." "What?" "Well, it was way too easy so I decided to have some fun." She held up the necklace. Robert put his hand out for it but Marina just put it back in her pocket. " It was obviously spelled with an alarm so I took it." "What!! Marina has to be the stupidest thing you've ever done!" "Robert, you can talk to scared little girls like that but not me." "You may be good but I'm still the leader and you should show me some respect." "Should but won't. I don't need this group; I can survive on my own. Can this group survive without me?" "Your small amount talent has given you an extremely big head." "You head has been bigger than mine for years and still is."  
  
The two of them were standing three feet apart screaming at each other. A few people had woken up and were standing in the doorway watching with fascination.  
  
"Robert, do you really think that this group will live as well without me? Shut you big mouth and actually think. You can go over to the records and work it out yourself." Marina stared at Robert and crossed her arms. "I'm waiting."  
  
Robert threw up his arms in frustration and stalked out of the door. Marina smirked and headed outside. She made her way through the streets and into the market place. At a sudden thought she took the necklace out of her pocket and, when the shopkeeper wasn't looking, put it down on his stall. She didn't want the thing; she didn't need that sort of trouble. If the merchant recognised it the shopkeeper would be a bit of trouble. She wished she could see it.  
  
She walked around completely bored - there was nothing for her to do. She needed a challenge, something that would really test her skill. Nothing in Corus would do. Suddenly her gaze drifted to the palace. That would definitely be a challenge.  
  
AN: What do you think? I know it's not very interesting yet but it'll get better. This is my first fanfic, I know lots of people say that to try and get reviews, but it really is. Review please!  
  
Moon_starx 


	2. Capture

Odd One Out  
  
AN: Yay another chapter. *Starts doing the can-can. * Sorry about that, I'm just happy. Thanks to:  
  
Ice-otter: I'm making it that she gets to the palace when Alanna gets there to be a page.  
  
Rainbowhannah: Thanks for the lovely review  
  
tat: Very nice of you to review my story and it was the computers fault that the speech went weird.  
  
Wolfess: Thanks for reviewing, your story is really good. The computer messed up the speech.  
  
Drowning Rooster: Yay lovely reviews. Remember to update your stories and put in you centaur one.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
At nightfall Marina crept towards the palace. She had no idea why she was doing this, she was probably going top get caught and put in jail. There was no way she could pull this off; she didn't even know what she wanted to steal. Even as she was thinking this she continued towards the palace as if it was a magnet.  
  
She crept through the shadows and pressed her back against the wall. She knew that no one could see her as she was completely in shadow and there was no light. Her breathing was coming out in short gasps, as she was terrified.  
  
Carefully, with a skill that came from long practise, Marina scaled the wall using tiny ledges to push herself upwards. When she landed she jumped back against the wall and into the shadows once again. Thanking the Gods for her silence, she continued.  
  
A guard, too intent on relieving his post than on spotting intruders, opened a door and walked through with nothing more than a shadow following him. As the guard went through one of the doors, Marina headed to the other. She found herself in a dark corridor and carried on walking, her footsteps making no sound.  
  
Marina walked around, almost completely lost in the maze of passages but she felt like she was dreaming and just continued walking. It was only in the middle of a dark corridor that Marina actually realised that she had no idea what she was going to take. There was jewellery in people's room but she wasn't going to risk going in there. Marina just stopped, still as a statue in the middle of the corridor. Her dream-like state vanished and she was left with nothing to protect her from reality. She turned and ran. She needed to get out of there. At the end of the corridor she hit something solid.  
  
The guard Marina had hit grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to a room. She stood there utterly stunned. He left locking the door. Frantically she stared all around her but there was no escape. There was no window and her brain was exploding in terror making it impossible to concentrate.  
  
The man returned with another guard and Marina hadn't moved a muscle. "And what may I ask were you doing?" The first asked sarcastically. Marina couldn't have answered even if she wanted to. "I think you're a thief, but no a clever one to try and rob the palace." The other said smugly. Marina just stared. The men were getting annoyed with her silence. One of them grabbed her by the arm and accidentally twisted it painfully. Marina cried out, as her arm was nearly ripped from her socket and the world turned red.  
  
AN: My friend Drowning Rooster and I are doing a poll: What percentage happier would you be if you had a silver pig? Answer by reviewing my story or hers. That's all for now, leaving you with this one message. REVIEW  
  
Moon-starx 


	3. Explainations

Odd One Out  
  
Disclaimer: I wouldn't be writing fanfiction if I owned anything. Marina is the only person I own. So no one can have her. I don't own anything duh.  
  
AN: I'm so sorry that the last chapter was so short but I just had to end on a bit of a cliff hanger. Also I'm sorry this is so late but I went to France with my school and got really bored. Thanks to:  
  
Drowning Rooster: Yay new chapter. Don't forget to keep updating up your centaur story.  
  
tat: Thanks for reviewing, I hope this de-confuses you.  
  
Brittany: Hi thanks for reviewing. I'm really pleased you like Marina. DR says thanks for reviewing about our silver pig.  
  
Meg: See I'm writing, now you can't beat me with a cordless phone.  
  
Sekhmet: Lots of people like thieves and thanks for saying you like my story.  
  
Alia: Thanks for the review its really nice. I'm glad you like my story.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
The two guards were thrown backwards against the walls in a kind of small explosion. They staggered to their feet and stared at where the girl had been. She was actually still there but she was standing with her eyes closed and around her was a huge ball of fire. She didn't seem to be in pain she was just standing there in her ball of flame, completely oblivious to the world around her. One of the guards walked a little closer to her but the heat was too immense. "Hey, hey? Are you alright?" The other called. Marina didn't even react. It was as if she was unconscious but still standing. "Go and get help. Now, go!" One yelled to the other and turned to stare at the girl again.  
  
Soon the guard was back with Duke Gareth. The man walked into the room took one look at the girl and his mouth fell open. "What happened?" He snapped to the guards. One explained the story in a breathless voice still staring at Marina. Duke Gareth shook his head, trying to think of some way out of this situation. "We need a mage but I don't know where we can find one." He said at last. As though in answer to this statement a man walked through the door. "Who are you?!" A very annoyed and confused Gareth asked. "My name is Lord Mared and I'm a mage. I do believe you asked for one." He replied calmly, as though talking to angry dukes in the same room as someone on fire was a normal occurrence for him. For all they know it actually could be. "If you'll just excuse me, I think I should help this girl." Lord Mared announced and walked towards Marina. He stopped very close to the flames and with great concentration examined her. Finally he spoke: "You will not be hurt and I very much doubt you will be sent to prison." None of the other men present questioned how he knew that she was a thief, they just continued watching. It seemed that the flames surrounding Marina had died down quite a bit but not completely. "Young one you are perfectly safe here." Marina slowly opened her eyes and looked carefully at Lord Mared. "What's going on?" She asked softly. "You have the power to control the fire and stop it, you just have to concentrate." Marina face showed clearly how terrified she was but she nodded and closed her eyes again. The fire started to go down even more but it looked like a hard struggle and Marina's forehead was streaked with sweat. Slowly the flames disappeared and Marina fell onto her side on the floor. Her vision blurred, blackened and finally disappeared completely as she fainted from exhaustion.  
  
Marina finally woke up on the evening of the next day. She stretched her aching muscles and stared around her. She was lying on a bed in a room but that was all she knew. She curled up in her blanket trying to quell the terror that was rising inside her. Hearing a noise behind her she whipped round and saw a strange man watching her. "Who are you?" She asked very annoyed that her voice trembled a bit. "My name is Lord Mared and I'm quite a powerful mage." He replied. Marina frowned slightly, she recognised his voice from somewhere but she couldn't remember where. "Okay next question commonly used by the extremely confused, where am I?" "In the healers wing of the palace." Mared replied chuckling quietly. "What's going to happen to me?" Mared just shrugged. Marina looked carefully at him. He didn't seem like a noble more like a child. He also seemed like he was on another planet most of the time, she was pretty sure that that was a mage thing. Something to do with having power and so being so much better than everybody else. Another man then entered the room - he was obviously a servant. "Excuse me Lord Mared but your presence is needed." Lord Mared walked out of the room and followed the servant.  
  
About half an hour later Lord Mared returned. "Do you know what's going to happened to me now?" Marina asked when he entered the room. "Well, you are going to be my responsibility and I'm going to teach you." "Teach me what?" "Didn't I tell you?" He asked trying to remember with a confused frown on his face. "I don't think so." "How to control your power over fire." "Oh." Marina didn't know what to say. "The rules are: you have to have at least an hour lesson with me a day on control, you have to stay out of everybody's way and no stealing. The people here don't seem to like thieves." The last sentence wasn't said as a joke, he seemed genuinely surprised. "Where am I going stay." Marina asked slowly - she wasn't very confident on Lord Mared's sanity. "In a room near mine, here." Marina looked down at her hands trying to take in all of this information. When she looked up again Lord Mared was staring at the ceiling twiddling his thumbs. She glanced up at the ceiling but it didn't hold any particular interest. She shook her head - Lord Mared had to be the strangest person she had ever met. "Can you show me where my room is?" She asked at last. "Huh?" Mared jerked out of his daydream. "Sure. Just follow me." He walked out of the room. Marina stared for a second and then followed him.  
  
A/N: So there it is my 3rd chapter. I hope everyone likes it. Sorry again it's so late. Everybody who reads my story has a direct order to first press that lovely button and review my story and then go read Drowning Rooster's story Lost Centaur and review. She says she won't update until lots of people review so all of you go and review that story cause I want to read her next chapter. Lastly:  
  
REVIEW!!!!!!!! 


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